Ranked from official statistics; every city opens its own guide.
Click any dot to open that city: jobs, pay, rent, commute, county economy and climate. Dot size follows population; colours follow the state flag.
By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 08/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.
Among the 100 largest places in North Carolina, Myrtle Grove has the smallest share of long commutes (4.5%), followed by Asheville and Jacksonville. Click any column to sort; click a city for its guide.
Across the 100 places in North Carolina that we cover, the median is 11.2% and the average 12.9%; the figure runs from 4.5% (Myrtle Grove) to 34.3% (Rolesville). That is a spread of 7.6 times between the two ends. The state figure is 13.9%; 35 of the 100 places are above it and 65 at or below.
The first five are Myrtle Grove, Asheville, Jacksonville, Morrisville, Wilmington. A high or low position is not good or bad on its own: short commutes can mean a self-contained job market or a small town with few employers. Use the Compare tab on each city page to see how two places differ across income, rent, commute and education, and check the county page for the local job market.
| # ⇅ | City ⇅ | County ⇅ | Commute of 45 minutes or more ⇅ | Population ⇅ | Median household income ⇅ | Median rent ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Myrtle Grove (unincorporated) | New Hanover County | 4.5% | 12,637 | $113,463 | $1,463 |
| 2 | Asheville | Buncombe County | 4.6% | 94,535 | $71,102 | $1,402 |
| 3 | Jacksonville | Onslow County | 4.6% | 71,279 | $57,697 | $1,321 |
| 4 | Morrisville | Wake County | 5.3% | 31,422 | $125,396 | $1,858 |
| 5 | Wilmington | New Hanover County | 6.0% | 120,805 | $66,738 | $1,395 |
| 6 | Thomasville | Davidson County | 6.0% | 27,321 | $60,935 | $879 |
| 7 | Spring Lake | Cumberland County | 6.2% | 11,573 | $51,958 | $1,351 |
| 8 | Chapel Hill | Orange County | 6.2% | 61,607 | $85,989 | $1,613 |
| 9 | Havelock | Craven County | 6.3% | 17,691 | $58,408 | $1,280 |
| 10 | Boone | Watauga County | 6.5% | 20,032 | $30,065 | $1,111 |
| 11 | Archdale | Randolph County | 6.8% | 12,087 | $64,757 | $1,034 |
| 12 | Morganton | Burke County | 6.9% | 17,646 | $51,355 | $944 |
| 13 | Kernersville | Forsyth County | 6.9% | 27,830 | $71,918 | $1,082 |
| 14 | High Point | Guilford County | 7.0% | 116,245 | $64,561 | $1,116 |
| 15 | Cary | Wake County | 7.1% | 179,306 | $134,905 | $1,738 |
| 16 | Hendersonville | Henderson County | 7.2% | 15,408 | $53,449 | $1,332 |
| 17 | Fayetteville | Cumberland County | 7.3% | 210,815 | $58,407 | $1,250 |
| 18 | Leland | Brunswick County | 7.3% | 29,607 | $91,977 | $1,735 |
| 19 | Summerfield | Guilford County | 7.5% | 11,116 | $160,275 | $1,521 |
| 20 | Murraysville (unincorporated) | New Hanover County | 7.6% | 16,339 | $81,167 | $1,777 |
| 21 | Hillsborough | Orange County | 7.7% | 9,724 | $98,163 | $1,368 |
| 22 | Clemmons | Forsyth County | 7.8% | 21,871 | $87,655 | $1,269 |
| 23 | Greenville | Pitt County | 7.8% | 92,857 | $49,748 | $1,007 |
| 24 | Greensboro | Guilford County | 8.2% | 301,198 | $61,515 | $1,172 |
| 25 | Lumberton | Robeson County | 8.3% | 18,859 | $42,877 | $866 |
| 26 | Morehead City | Carteret County | 8.4% | 9,806 | $56,233 | $1,134 |
| 27 | Knightdale | Wake County | 8.4% | 20,214 | $103,220 | $1,674 |
| 28 | Waynesville | Haywood County | 8.5% | 10,502 | $54,923 | $1,070 |
| 29 | Hickory | Catawba County | 8.6% | 44,258 | $64,576 | $1,063 |
| 30 | Winston-Salem | Forsyth County | 8.6% | 252,037 | $59,268 | $1,087 |
| 31 | Durham | Durham County | 8.6% | 291,467 | $81,619 | $1,508 |
| 32 | Lenoir | Caldwell County | 8.9% | 18,299 | $49,910 | $664 |
| 33 | Raleigh | Wake County | 9.0% | 481,031 | $85,395 | $1,572 |
| 34 | Pineville | Mecklenburg County | 9.1% | 11,055 | $69,354 | $1,552 |
| 35 | Asheboro | Randolph County | 9.1% | 27,580 | $47,197 | $906 |
| 36 | Elon | Alamance County | 9.1% | 11,032 | $84,773 | $2,080 |
| 37 | Statesville | Iredell County | 9.4% | 29,894 | $52,880 | $1,000 |
| 38 | Winterville | Pitt County | 9.6% | 10,725 | $83,193 | $1,534 |
| 39 | New Bern | Craven County | 9.7% | 32,734 | $61,031 | $1,081 |
| 40 | Goldsboro | Wayne County | 9.7% | 34,383 | $48,540 | $971 |
| 41 | Carrboro | Orange County | 9.9% | 21,204 | $85,743 | $1,470 |
| 42 | Apex | Wake County | 10.2% | 70,630 | $144,135 | $1,902 |
| 43 | Reidsville | Rockingham County | 10.3% | 14,585 | $42,921 | $822 |
| 44 | Newton | Catawba County | 10.4% | 13,333 | $62,015 | $1,091 |
| 45 | Charlotte | Mecklenburg County | 10.6% | 903,844 | $82,068 | $1,612 |
| 46 | Piney Green (unincorporated) | Onslow County | 10.6% | 14,078 | $72,177 | $1,202 |
| 47 | Matthews | Mecklenburg County | 10.7% | 30,577 | $108,611 | $1,764 |
| 48 | Mount Airy | Surry County | 10.8% | 10,633 | $40,275 | $725 |
| 49 | Washington | Beaufort County | 10.8% | 9,726 | $40,186 | $856 |
| 50 | Rocky Mount | Nash County | 11.0% | 54,297 | $55,534 | $957 |
| 51 | Tarboro | Edgecombe County | 11.2% | 10,770 | $49,796 | $843 |
| 52 | Laurinburg | Scotland County | 11.3% | 15,087 | $42,170 | $774 |
| 53 | Hope Mills | Cumberland County | 11.6% | 17,939 | $65,774 | $1,141 |
| 54 | Kinston | Lenoir County | 11.8% | 19,505 | $36,878 | $867 |
| 55 | Shelby | Cleveland County | 12.3% | 22,100 | $48,376 | $945 |
| 56 | Holly Springs | Wake County | 12.7% | 45,248 | $135,578 | $2,021 |
| 57 | Belmont | Gaston County | 12.8% | 15,546 | $94,883 | $1,365 |
| 58 | Henderson | Vance County | 13.0% | 14,885 | $39,969 | $848 |
| 59 | Wilson | Wilson County | 13.0% | 48,370 | $52,485 | $971 |
| 60 | Salisbury | Rowan County | 13.1% | 35,825 | $53,716 | $1,071 |
| 61 | Mount Holly | Gaston County | 13.2% | 18,208 | $79,385 | $1,256 |
| 62 | Lewisville | Forsyth County | 13.2% | 13,828 | $100,917 | $1,095 |
| 63 | Davidson | Mecklenburg County | 13.2% | 15,660 | $166,556 | $1,652 |
| 64 | Roanoke Rapids | Halifax County | 13.4% | 14,856 | $53,690 | $858 |
| 65 | Huntersville | Mecklenburg County | 13.7% | 63,969 | $120,516 | $1,834 |
| 66 | Cornelius | Mecklenburg County | 14.1% | 32,783 | $113,767 | $1,722 |
| 67 | Burlington | Alamance County | 14.3% | 59,610 | $56,880 | $1,051 |
| 68 | Lexington | Davidson County | 14.4% | 19,690 | $43,128 | $893 |
| 69 | Weddington | Union County | 14.5% | 13,805 | $190,766 | $1,927 |
| 70 | Wendell | Wake County | 14.7% | 13,064 | $95,787 | $1,457 |
| 71 | Harrisburg | Cabarrus County | 15.9% | 19,633 | $148,254 | $2,640 |
| 72 | Stallings | Union County | 16.1% | 16,886 | $115,974 | $1,882 |
| 73 | Kannapolis | Cabarrus County | 16.1% | 57,890 | $73,836 | $1,319 |
| 74 | Lincolnton | Lincoln County | 16.3% | 11,783 | $46,320 | $965 |
| 75 | Garner | Wake County | 16.4% | 34,473 | $78,756 | $1,549 |
| 76 | Mooresville | Iredell County | 16.8% | 52,381 | $89,647 | $1,626 |
| 77 | Mint Hill | Mecklenburg County | 16.9% | 27,556 | $100,860 | $1,528 |
| 78 | Concord | Cabarrus County | 17.3% | 108,719 | $86,921 | $1,451 |
| 79 | Sanford | Lee County | 17.5% | 31,478 | $57,586 | $1,052 |
| 80 | Indian Trail | Union County | 17.7% | 42,036 | $108,483 | $2,077 |
| 81 | Graham | Alamance County | 17.8% | 18,048 | $56,239 | $1,071 |
| 82 | Mebane | Alamance County | 18.2% | 19,538 | $83,174 | $1,283 |
| 83 | Southern Pines | Moore County | 18.8% | 16,420 | $88,535 | $1,354 |
| 84 | Kings Mountain | Cleveland County | 19.0% | 12,039 | $49,564 | $959 |
| 85 | Elizabeth City | Pasquotank County | 19.0% | 18,871 | $52,141 | $1,117 |
| 86 | Eden | Rockingham County | 19.1% | 15,356 | $47,260 | $799 |
| 87 | Gastonia | Gaston County | 19.3% | 82,884 | $64,059 | $1,204 |
| 88 | Pinehurst | Moore County | 19.8% | 18,256 | $109,802 | $1,664 |
| 89 | Clayton | Johnston County | 20.3% | 29,320 | $78,822 | $1,661 |
| 90 | Albemarle | Stanly County | 21.4% | 16,762 | $46,881 | $880 |
| 91 | Smithfield | Johnston County | 22.2% | 12,116 | $43,270 | $658 |
| 92 | Spout Springs (unincorporated) | Harnett County | 23.2% | 11,242 | $92,402 | $2,010 |
| 93 | Anderson Creek (unincorporated) | Harnett County | 23.2% | 13,927 | $87,287 | $1,251 |
| 94 | Monroe | Union County | 23.4% | 36,759 | $72,540 | $1,246 |
| 95 | Lake Norman of Iredell (unincorporated) | Iredell County | 25.4% | 12,494 | $173,542 | $1,327 |
| 96 | Waxhaw | Union County | 25.6% | 22,275 | $131,894 | $1,840 |
| 97 | Wake Forest | Wake County | 26.4% | 52,844 | $123,802 | $1,596 |
| 98 | Fuquay-Varina | Wake County | 27.2% | 40,485 | $115,497 | $1,720 |
| 99 | Lake Norman of Catawba (unincorporated) | Catawba County | 31.1% | 9,906 | $112,656 | $1,319 |
| 100 | Rolesville | Wake County | 34.3% | 10,766 | $149,565 | $1,085 |
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Unincorporated places are census-designated places: they have no city government but are counted as communities. Figures describe the city itself.
Myrtle Grove, with 4.5% (among the 100 largest places; ACS 2020–2024).
The 100 largest places in North Carolina by population.